A bigger, flashier C class is coming

A bigger and roomier fourth-generation 2014 Mercedes-Benz C class will have a more dynamic exterior styling to challenge the BMW 3 series and the redesigned Audi A4 also due next year, sources tell Automobilwoche, Automotive News' German sibling publication.

The 2014 C-class sedan will debut at next year's Detroit auto show and go on sale in the United States in August 2014.

Spy photos suggest the C-class sedan will resemble the redesigned Mercedes S-class flagship that goes on sale in September.

The 2014 C-class sedan, which will be built in Vance, Ala., starting in early 2014, will be based on a new rear-wheel-drive architecture and will grow about 5 inches in length to 185 inches. The added size mainly will increase rear seat room. Mercedes-Benz also wants to avoid cannibalizing the new front-wheel-drive CLA sedan coming this fall, which is close in size to the current C class.

The new C class will have three body styles in addition to the sedan. A coupe version is due in 2015 after debuting at the Geneva auto show that March. It likely will be called the CLK -- a name Mercedes-Benz had dropped.

A convertible version will debut at the Frankfurt auto show in the fall of 2015 and go on sale in early 2016. It will have a classic fabric top.

A station wagon will debut at the September 2014 Paris auto show and go on sale in Europe in late 2014.